Day 6 - Kasane To Rundu

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Today was a little sad but also exciting to move on. The drive isn't a really long one to Rundu in the Okavanga region of northern Namibia. Headed out at 8 after breakfast. The route takes us back down the A33 from Kasane to the border post at Ngoma Bridge. Another great sighting of a very large Giraffe crossing the road right in front of but unfortunately didn't have the camera handy. Reached Ngoma bridge in about 45 minutes and began another exciting interaction with border immigration. Botswana side wasn't an issue, well not for us, but the lady who was supposed to be manning the desk but was outside sunning herself seemed a bit put out that she had to come and stamp our passports. Namibian side was a bit more interesting although it's the best of all the immigration experiences so far. The interesting thing this time was an Afrikaner standing at the road traffic desk telling the guy that he didn't need to pay for his vehicle. When asked for N$600 he seemed flabbergasted and said he wasn't paying, there seemed little argument, but the upshot was the Afrikaner didn't pay and got his ticket to enter. We got to the counter and I did my form, handed the guy the right money and got my ticket. He then proceeded to tell me he'd seen a car like mine before. He said he'd been driving north from Windhoek doing 200kph and the Touareg passed him doing about 260kph. Interesting story given he is a government employee advising on road usage and wasn't bothered to tell me he was doing 80kph over the limit.



Pressed on through Namibia and it is stunning, beautiful bush, grasses and forests all around. So much to see from a scenery perspective all the way through the Caprivi Stip. A little disappointed not to see any wildlife in the strip but all the same a lovely drive in beautiful 35C (19C in the car ;o). At the entry to the Caprivi we got a great view on the GPS, 4 countries on there at the same time. Zambia to the NE, Angola t the NW, Botswana to the SW and Namibia in the middle. Somewhere in the strip we saw a good example of why you should never park your car under a tree for shade, I can only imagine the guys dismay when he came back to his car and the tree had fallen on it, we thought it was amusing though!



After a fuel stop in Rundu a quick call to the hotel to find out where they are. The lady told me to carry on the B8 until we saw a sign for Nkurenkura and it is about 35 km from Rundu. After about 5 minutes heading south on the B8 it really didn't feel right so I stopped and called her again. This time she had a different story and I said to her do I need to turn at the gas station, yes she replied. So I turned around and headed back to Rundu and then found the turning for Nkurenkura was not at the gas station at all but about 3km further on. I took the turning and checked the odometer and ran for 35km and saw no signs for the lodge. Pushed on a bit further and eventually after 45km there was the sign.



Down a Sandy lane for about 1.5km and got to the lodge and it is stunning. All tented but extremely high end with a great reception and deck as well as a floating bar on the river. Our room, a deluxe i(obviously) is beautiful. Queen bed, bath and shower, elevated deck overlooking the river. As I sit here writing this tonight all I can hear is wildlife and when I look up a great view of the Milky Way. We're booked for half board and I had taken the initiative and emailed them over 2 weeks prior to let the know that Rita is special needs. I actually reminded them again before we left last week. So I wasn’t in the least bit surprised when we arrived and the guy asked about dietary needs and I told him Rita was vegan, his reply was “it’s a pity we didn’t know ahead of time” to which I replied you did, twice. Anyway, the chef excelled herself and dinner was fabulous.



A little bit of heaven and R&R for a couple of days before the driving resumes south to Windhoek.

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